I purchased Dr. Street's book out of curiousity of what the author would write to defend the evangelical method of altar calls and the ever so popular sinner's prayer. Sadly, the book lacks any serious theological treatment of salvation and completely ignores the sovereignty of God in salvation.
The book seeks to be a guide both to evangelists and pastors to how to deliever an "effective" invitation (emphasis on numbers being the key word for effective.) Dr. Street should have rightly named this book, "The Effective Manipulation Methods" and then traced the poor theology of Charles Finney right down to Billy Graham. While Dr. Street does try to answer his critics (such as Martin Llyod-Jones) he never truly gives any answers but simply lists Llyod-Jones' nine reasons not to give an altar call and never gives any biblical reason we should do so.
Dr. Street works from a Baptist theology that ignores election and the work of the Holy Spirit (John 6:44; Acts 14:48) and places the emphasis on man (both pastors and hearers). He cites not one biblical example of an actual altar call or genuine invitation but uses various Scriptures out of context to try to make his point. He also gives justification to the sinner's prayer method although he never deals with any Scriptures concerning this matter (since there are none I would expect him to do so).
Overall, unless you are an Arminian in your evangelistic approach, then I would not encourage you to purchase this book. It offers nothing in the means of theological content. You would be better to read Iain Murray's book THE INVITATION SYSTEM or John MacArthur's ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL, THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS, or HARD TO BELIEVE.
In these days of shallow preaching and easy believism, "The Effective Invitation has taught me to preach the Word in an uncompromising fashion and yet it has shown me the urgent need of the call to all to repentance and faith. Biblically and evangelistically this book is rock solid, and it is a well-rounded approach to evangelism and evangelistic preaching that will bless you tremendously. I look forward to reading it again and again along with the workbook.
This book is not a book that can or should be read only once. "The Effective Invitation" is a book that's not meant to be put on a shelf to flex ones intellectual muscle, but one that should be found on the desk, coffee table or some where sermon preparations are done. It's a book designed for the lay person, Pastor, Evangelist or anyone who is serious about the Word of God and how to deliver an effective call for sinners to Repent and Trust Christ through the proclamation, preaching, or heralding of His Word.
Without this book I would still be preaching a half-empty gospel. It is like putting a puzzle together and missing a piece. Some might say "it's no big deal" or others might say "Oh, well". But to me it never seemed complete. You see my preaching seemed to be missing something (just like the puzzle) until I found the missing piece in "The Effective Invitation".
This book has also shown me the need to have a message with an invitation and music that flows together in one accord. It has given me the necessary tools to be able to prepare, put together and deliver an effective evangelistic message. It proves this point through the use of Historical, Theological, and Biblical bases. It has shown me that it's not through the words of man but from the very Word of God is the call issued for the sinner to repent and believe in Christ and Him alone to save them.
The book also covers the invitation from A to Z which is the best method especially in these fast paced, hectic times we as minister are living in. Again it has shown me that I don't draw the people to repent and trust but that it is the role of The Holy Spirit to convict and draw.
This book has caused me to examine the reasons, moods, and methods of other preachers as wells as mine to have people walk the aisle. Also it has shown me how to deal with those who down play or even deny the need for an invitation and its biblical roots. May the Lord bless you as He has me through this book.
